Chastain Park nearly loses another one of its own on The Resident!

The Resident takes a serious turn in this episode highlighting the exhausting and rigorous schedules of a doctor’s life along with the ever-growing mystery of Dr. Hunter (Melina Kanakaredes). As a result of her questionable actions, Nic (Emily VanCamp) is no longer working at Chastain Park, giving her even more time to look into Dr. Hunter’s past. She manages to find an employee that used to work at Dr. Hunter’s clinic but he doesn’t seem too enthused about discussing the past with Nic.

Throughout the episode, Bradley (Steven Reddington), attempts to get the attention of Conrad (Matt Czuchry) and Devon (Manish Dayal) and ultimately does when he comes crashing down into the skylight of the boardroom. While it seems this occurs because he is overworked, exhausted, and took energy drinks to stay awake, Dr. Bell (Bruce Greenwood) tries to play it off as an attempted suicide. This is, of course, to save the hospital’s reputation, and divert the attention away from any negative publicity it could give them.

Nic confronts Dr. Hunter to inform she is digging into her past, and sooner or later, she’s going to catch her in a lie. Chastain Park also gains a new employee by the name of Dr. AJ Austin (Malcolm Jamal-Warner), who butts heads with nearly everyone but manages to make a lasting impression on Dr. Bell. By the end of the episode, he becomes the latest addition to the hospital, but under the conditions that Mina (Shaunette Renee Wilson) would be his right-hand person. This could be an interesting ship, right?

Nic attempts to go to the medical board to report Dr. Hunter but is turned away, making it more difficult to reprimand her for all the horrible things she has done. We also learn that Bradley did indeed consider suicide at some point, and gets the support of the group to get him through the pressure of the job, even if it means leaving it. And if things couldn’t be tenser, Nic has a tail throughout the entire episode and sees him face-to-face when he shows up at her house with groceries–and a threat. While we have no idea who this mysterious person we can only make the assumption it isn’t going to end well–especially not with someone secretly snapping pictures of Nic and Conrad.

Things are starting to get crazy and creepy and we have so much to discuss, so let’s dive into the discussion with our The Resident roundtable!

Anam (@anamiii)– Writer, Activist, TV Junkie

Carlynn (@UpsteadRheese25)– I watch too much TV, and sometimes I live-tweet

1. Dr. Bell had his first episode as Chastain’s CEO. What are your thoughts on him in his new role?

Anam (@anamiii): Shady hoe. He’s only in this to help himself and make sure he doesn’t get in trouble. I’m really hoping karma comes back with a vengeance.

Carlynn (@UpsteadRheese25): I don’t like him as CEO, he needs to go but at least the patients are safer during surgery this way.

Amanda (@dudeamanda): I think he’s too full of himself. However, he can lie his way through anything, so he’ll probably fit in fine as Chastain’s CEO. It will be interesting to see when more troubles come to the hospital and he has to really deal with the press.

Jess (@mattczuchryff): Call me crazy, but I am still hoping that he will realize that he is too, just a puppet in the game Lane is playing. He might enjoy being CEO right now but it’s not real, it’s just another way to secure her plan.

Meli (@Melikeit70): I think as long as he stays away from patients I’m pretty ok with him being the hospital’s CEO. He needs to reinvent himself as something else and right now it seems that he’s showing a “talent”… for finding new talents at least.

2. This episode shed light on the exhausting lives of doctors through Bradley and how it can affect them physically and mentally. What were your thoughts on this aspect of the episode?

Anam: It’s a really important topic to highlight. Burnout in health care is real and these doctors are still people. They get tired. When you’re tired you’re not operating at your 100% and when you’re working with patients you’re endangering people’s lives. I think the industry really needs to focus on getting enough staff to cover each shift and making sure that the staff is getting adequate rest and time off to avoid burnout.

Carlynn: That doctors are overworked. I would hope doctors would not work 30 hours in a row especially surgeons.

Amanda: I thought this was a really eye-opening episode. I loved the end when Bradley was sharing his thoughts with his friends, and they figured out he really isn’t happy here. It was an important message for everyone, not just doctors.

Jess: I like that they don’t shy away from showing the negative side of the health care system and I am not even talking about the patients but the doctors too.

Meli: It’s a stressful and hard job. And I wonder if doctors and nurses get any kind of psychological support. Anyway I liked the way the show addressed that topic and how they gave Bradley a backstory and made us care about him even if we knew so little about his character.

3. It seems like Dr. Austin is going to be Chastain’s newest surgeon. What are your thoughts on him and his method of operating?

Anam: His ways are unorthodox at best but he seems to know what he’s doing. He kind of reminds me of Dr. House. Doesn’t care for authority, knows he’s a big deal, can’t seem to stay in one hospital until he finds the administrator that can handle him. He seems like he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with for sure. I think he’s a breath of fresh air. Brings a comedic aspect to the show but also is super arrogant and needs to dial it back a notch when he’s around Mina. She’s not going to take his crap.

Carlynn: I really like him. I think he will be a great addition to the staff at the hospital. I think i like his operating method.

Amanda: I really like him a lot. I think he’s just what Chastain needs in their OR. He’s confident and cocky, and I really cannot wait to see how he gets along with the other doctors.

Jess: Dr. Austin and Mina will definitely be an interesting team from now on. Not sure what to think about him yet, but he honestly scares me a little.

Meli: Arrogant, self-confident, abrasive…I like him. Lol.

4. Nic tried to investigate and dig deeper into Dr. Hunter’s past but it seems someone may be following and spying on her. What do you think is going on?

Anam: Lane is trying to scare her off. There’s clearly something fishy she’s trying to hide and it looks like she is going to do whatever it takes to keep it hidden.

Carlynn: I think Dr. Hunter got someone to follow Nic.

Amanda: I think Lane is going to do whatever it takes to make sure she doesn’t get caught, and she’s trying to scare Nic. But Nic isn’t easily scared, and I don’t think Lane knows what she’s up against.

Jess: I think Nic is onto something. She must be hiding something that goes beyond what she knows so far. If it was only about Lily, Lane would have stopped caring about Nic the moment she was fired but after everything that happened in last night’s episode there must be something else and maybe Nic is closer to uncover the truth than she actually realizes yet.

Meli: I think that whatever Lane is doing with her patients at her clinic other people who work for her could be involved. And there’s probably something much bigger than Lily’s death and Lane’s treatment behind that story…

5. It appears Mina will have to work alongside Dr. Austin if he is to be working at Chastain. What are your thoughts on this and their dynamic?

Anam: Love this! Mina seems to be the only one who can go toe to toe with Dr. Austin. It’ll be a fun dynamic to watch. She’s not going to sit around and let him do whatever he wants, she demands respect — as she should. He’s going to have to give it to her and I think he will willingly because he digs her.

Carlynn: I would like it. I enjoyed their scenes together and I really enjoy their dynamic.

Amanda: I love it! I think they’ll make such a kickass team! Their personalities are so different, that they actually work together perfectly. I think they’re going to change a lot of the OR surgeries for the better.

Jess: At first glance they really seem so alike but I think Mina grew a lot as a person in the last couple of episodes. (She admitted to missing Nic!). It will definitely be interesting to see how they will work as a team. It can work but also go down in flames.

Meli: I think Mina may have found her match.

6. Dr. Bell tried to rule Bradley’s incident as a suicide in order to save face and money for Chastain. What did you think of his focus on the hospital’s reputation over concern for Bradley?

Anam: That bastard. He does not care about anyone but himself. I think if it ever comes down to saving face for himself or Hunter he’s going to throw her under the bus too. He’s a sleazeball. What do you expect?

Carlynn: I hated it! It’s sad that all he cares about is money and the hospital’s reputation but it was expected. Dr. Bell doesn’t care.

Amanda: I think it was as predicted. Why try and get to the root of the problem, when you can just make something up to save yourself. That will always be Chastain’s problem no matter who the CEO is unless Conrad becomes CEO because he actually cares about people, not money.

Jess: Are we really surprised? I sadly didn’t expect anything else from Dr. Bell. It’s all about the money and never about the people, nothing has changed even with the new title as CEO.

Meli: Apparently that is what hospital CEOs are supposed to do? Focusing on hospital’s reputation over “everything”? If so he’s going to be a great CEO. God help them.

7. Next week’s promo shows Nic snooping Dr. Hunter’s clinic and then in an orange jumpsuit sitting in jail. What are your predictions on what will happen?

Anam: Hunter is clearly behind it. She has something to hide and she’s trying to keep Nic far away from it. It must be big if she’s willing to not only destroy her career and kill a patient but also have Nic tossed into jail.

Carlynn: Based on the promo It sounds like Nic was set up probably by Dr. Hunter or someone Lane hired to do it for her.

Amanda: I think Lane knows she’s losing and is going to try and set Nic up like maybe she broke into the clinic. But I think Lane is still underestimating Nic and co. I think crazy things are coming, and I cannot wait until Lane gets taken down.

Jess: We know that Nic is being followed so I fear Lane is going to set up a trap and it will lead to the police arresting Nic. It’s definitely time for Conrad to come up with something before it is too late.

Meli: I think she will be arrested because Lane will find a way to set up her.

Final Verdict: The Resident places Nic in a dangerous situation–and we aren’t ready for it!

The Resident is raising the stakes as Nic’s life continues to teeter-totter between dangerous and frightening. There most certainly is someone following her around, and we can only assume it is courtesy of Dr. Hunter. Could Lane go as far as hurting Nic to keep her secrets? Based on what we’ve seen, it appears she just might. With each passing week, the tensions have been escalating and we are super worried as to what all this will mean for Nic.

While Nic deals with the anxiety of someone tracking her every move, this episode also focuses a lot on the reality of how exhausting a doctor’s life can be. And while this is a known and expected fact amongst this industry, we see a different angle to–one in which the hospital doesn’t really seem to care what toll it’s taking on those that work for them. Bradley’s story is really disheartening and scary, and we commend The Resident for shedding light on this topic.

Next week’s promo of The Resident shows Nic snooping around Dr. Hunter’s clinic and then shows her adorned in an orange jumpsuit. We can only assume this means she gets caught thus digging herself into a deeper hole with the entire situation. We really hope Dr. Hunter is caught once and for all but it seems like this won’t happen–at least not for now!

The Resident will return Monday, May 7th at 10/9c on Fox!

Someone has their eyes on you, Nic.

Don’t forget to check out our other The Resident roundtables, recaps, and much more on TVAfterDark!

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